NOW PLAYING

Hizb Allah, Hamas discuss prisoner swap

Lebanon's Hizb Allah group has met in Beirut with Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad to discuss exchange of prisoners with Israel.

27 Sep 2003 21:36 GMT

Shaikh Hasan Nasr Allah met senior Hamas officials on Saturday

Hizb Allah and Israel have been negotiating through German mediators a possible swap of Hizb Allah's four Israeli captives for about 15 Lebanese and as many as 400 Palestinian and other Arab detainees in Israel.

Hizb Allah said in a statement its leader Shaikh Hasan Nasr Allah met senior Hamas officials including politburo head Khalid Mishaal on Saturday to discuss the inclusion of Palestinians in any deal.

Precursor

"We are following with Hizb Allah the issue of a prisoner swap after it was confirmed that a deal would include a number of Palestinian captives," Mishaal said after the meeting. He gave no more details.

Israel handed over the remains of two Hizb Allah fighters in August, a step seen as a precursor to a swap of high-profile detainees. This includes two guerrilla leaders Israel abducted as bargaining chips to get information on Israeli airman Ron Arad

who went missing over Lebanon in 1986.

"We are following with Hizb Allah the issue of a prisoner swap after it was confirmed that a deal would include a number of Palestinian captives"